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County on right track in OK’ing harbor expansion

The birds are chirping, the sun has been shining and that snow outside your window is slowly but surely melting away. Spring officially began early last week, and here in Superiorland the weather is finally beginning to follow suit.

Along with the conclusion of wintry weather and the sprouting of spring flowers comes the big thaw on our lakes and waterways, opening up the recreational calendar for the beginning of boating season.

Marquette County has plenty of beautiful inland lakes for boat enthusiasts to launch their vessels, and then there’s the vast wide-open waters of Lake Superior, a wonderland for the more adventurous boaters out there.

Area captains may have more opportunity to get their vessels on Lake Superior if a proposal being discussed by the Marquette County Board moves forward.

Last week, the board green-lighted the submission of a grant application that, if awarded, would help fund an expansion at the Big Bay Harbor of Refuge in the northern part of the county.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund grant, a federal program administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, could provide half of the funding needed to complete the $242,000 expansion, with the county paying for the other half.

The project would include the addition of a new floating dock system at the harbor, thereby adding at least 10 boat slips, or roughly doubling the number of boats able to dock there, county documents indicate.

“County staff have received inquiries on slip availability from residents throughout Marquette County due to the lack of availability and cost of other area marinas,” county board materials state. “A substantial rise in tourism and the desire to recreate via boating has been recognized.”

It is true that the city of Marquette over the past few years has been increasing the cost of slips at its two marinas, Presque Isle and Cinder Pond. The increases there have been an attempt to shore up the two marinas financially, which are intended to be self-sustaining, rather than relying on general fund dollars, officials have told us in the past.

Also, the Marquette City Commission recently moved ahead with a contested plan to downsize the Presque Isle Marina by nearly half the number of slips.

When you consider the people who might be waiting to get into the city’s marinas, along with the 14 folks the county says it has waiting for slips at the Big Bay Harbor, there’s a decent number of area boaters looking to keep their vessels docked somewhere on Lake Superior.

What’s interesting is that Marquette city officials said not long ago that the DNR Waterways Commission had recommended marinas be built to less than current demand, in anticipation of a decline in boating interest across the state.

Whether that projection holds true is a matter left to be seen. But what is clear is that at least here in Marquette County, there seems to be a strong boating community and interest in marina slips on Lake Superior.

What’s also clear is that any time local municipalities or agencies can acquire grant funding to assist them with local projects, that’s a positive thing.

It will be interesting to see this project move forward if the grant funding is awarded, but we believe it to be a good proposal for area boaters and the county overall. Full speed ahead.

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